Sunday, October 10, 2010

Kicked off Week 5 with a 5 minute Cardio warm-up (Walking 15% incline 3 mph)Then, used Harley Pasternak's 5 Factor Fitness Monday as inspiration and didChest Dumbell Fly - on a bench -- much better than at home on the floor! I hurt myself the last time I was following his plan (he doesn't give specifics on which weights to use, and I over did it)... so I was super cautious and used 5lb weights since I was following the 2x30 reps warm up.Then did 60 Dumbell Tap Squats with 10lb weights. I got to 50 and then started counting backwards from 10 to 1, because I couldn't bring myself to think 51,52,53...Then I did Upper-Body Crunches x 60 and 40 Reverse Crunches

Then I started my 60 minutes of Cardio.I did Stairmill for 30 minutes, I got 15 minutes in on level 12 listening to Polly Jean Harvey's Uh Huh Her. Then, I was covered in sweat and breathless, so I switched to level 8. I ended up at my 144 floors, but I was doing lots of little variations. I would take every other step, standing tall. Then I would hop one foot and then step the other foot on the same step so I was really putting all my weight and strength into the first jump. Then just walking one step at a time.

I headed to the climbing treadmill next, it was a very clunky machine I made it 5 minutes and then I just couldn't do it.

I jumped on the treadmill 5 more minutes. Again, just couldn't go another step. So I headed over to the bikes. I rode 6 miles listening to PodRunner "windup" at 130 bpm. I did all of this in shorts. Shorter shorts than I have worn in public in more than a decade, maybe two. And it felt great. All this cardio and strength training is working to transform the shape of my body, and I feel taller, leaner, stronger, and more confident.

So much of the time at the gym could just be on autopilot. And if that is what I was doing, at the end of it, I wouldn't look that different than I did four weeks ago. It is by tuning into the workout, pushing yourself to do your best -- but not so hard that you burn yourself out or get hurt. Hanging in there for the "golden rep" as Lee Labrada has referred to it.